What's happening
This bill requires utilities to support and fund electrical infrastructure for electric vehicle charging for public-serving fleets, with special provisions for disadvantaged communities.
Why it matters
Spreads the cost of EV charging infrastructure. Instead of making public-serving fleets (like school buses or municipal vehicles) pay for all the electrical upgrades needed for charging, this bill lets utilities recover much of these costs through general electricity rates or surcharges, distributing the expense across all ratepayers.
Prioritizes equity for disadvantaged communities. The bill requires utilities to cover a higher share (at least 90%) of the customer-side infrastructure costs for EV chargers located in disadvantaged communities, compared to a minimum of 50% elsewhere, helping to ensure these areas aren't left behind in the transition to clean transportation.
Accelerates public fleet electrification. By requiring utilities to create new tariffs and update their processes within a strict timeline, the bill aims to speed up installation of charging infrastructure for public fleets, reducing delays caused by outdated utility policies and supporting faster adoption of electric vehicles by public agencies.
Increases transparency and oversight. Utilities must file detailed cost accounting, maintain budgets, and submit new rate structures for regulatory approval, with opportunities for public comment, which could increase accountability and help prevent excessive spending or unfair rate hikes.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Electric utilities
The bill would require them to file fleet-charging infrastructure tariffs within 60 days, with reasonable and prudent costs eligible for recovery through rates or surcharges.
State agencies, municipalities, public authorities and school districts
Their fleets would qualify for utility deployment or reimbursement of charging make-ready infrastructure, with at least 50% of reasonable customer-owned costs covered outside disadvantaged communities or designated zones and at least 90% within them.
Electric utility ratepayers
Infrastructure costs included in utility rate bases would be recovered broadly through rates or surcharges rather than charged directly or solely to the fleet customer.
Private contractors operating public-serving fleets
Nonpublic customers receiving customer-side incentives could face prorated repayment if they reduce the number of electric public-serving fleet vehicles at the location within ten years.
Headline styles
Require EV Charging Infrastructure
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 14
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.863
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to energy
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 37–22
- Amended on third reading (t) 98a
- Advanced to third reading
Show 3 earlier actions
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.401
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Electric Fleet Charging Infrastructure
In Assembly Committee · Energy · Sponsor Carrie Woerner
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
98--A Cal. No. 401
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to building makeready electrical infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles for public serving fleet vehicles
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-x to read as follows:
§ 66-x. Make-ready electrical infrastructure. 1. Legislative intent and purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to implement cost effective and unified treatment by electric corporations of electrical distribution infrastructure, and certain customer-owned makeready infrastructure, needed to charge electric public serving fleet vehicles; and provide for certain costs of such infrastructure to be included in electric corporations' rate bases and generally recovered through rates or surcharges, instead of directly from the public serving fleet customers served by such infrastructure. Nothing in this section shall modify any obligation of an electric corporation to provide a full and accurate accounting of costs related to electrical distribution infrastructure needed to charge electric vehicles.
2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Electrical distribution infrastructure" means any utility facilities used to distribute electric service to customers, and includes poles, vaults, service drops, transformers, mounting pads, trenching,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00265-02-5
conduit, wire, cable, meters, other equipment as necessary, and associated engineering and civil construction work.
(b) "Utility-owned make-ready costs" means any capital investment in electrical distribution infrastructure needed to connect and serve a new electric vehicle charger, including step down transformers, overhead service lines, and utility meters.
(c) "Customer-owned make-ready costs" means any capital investment in equipment or infrastructure beyond the utility service point necessary to make a site ready to accept an electric vehicle charger, including conductors, trenching, and panels.
(d) "Disadvantaged community" means a community defined as a disadvantaged community under article seventy-five of the environmental conservation law.
(e) "Public serving fleet" means a fleet of vehicles owned, leased, or contracted by the state, any municipality, public authority or school district.
3. Reasonable efforts required. Electric corporations shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that any infrastructure built pursuant to this section is efficiently sized and operated. Such efforts may include, but not be limited to, considering customers' reasonably foreseeable load management activities and deployments of distributed energy resources.
4. Application. No later than sixty days after the effective date of this section, all electric corporations shall file an application with the commission to establish a tariff that shall replace the line extension rules currently used by such electric corporations. Such tariff, at a minimum, shall:
(a) provide for such electric corporation to deploy or reimburse the customer's reasonable costs, subject to reasonable conditions, of customer-side make-ready infrastructure for public serving fleets;
(b) authorize such electric corporation to include in its rate base one hundred percent of all reasonable and prudent utility-owned makeready costs incurred to serve electric vehicle charging loads of public serving fleets;
(c) authorize such electronic corporation to include in its base rate of reasonable and prudent customer-side make-ready costs needed to prepare a public serving fleet's site for electric vehicle charging in the following manner:
(i) a minimum fifty percent or higher where authorized by the commission, of reasonable customer-owned make-ready costs in locations that are not within a disadvantaged community or a disadvantaged community zone;
(ii) a minimum ninety percent, or higher where authorized by the commission, of reasonable customer-owned make-ready costs located within a disadvantaged community or disadvantaged community zone; and
(d) provide that the portion of customer-owned make-ready costs included in the electric corporation's rate base shall not be charged directly or solely to the customer served by such make-ready infrastructure; except where the customer is not a public entity, and within ten years of receiving a customer-side make-ready incentive at a location pursuant to this section, reduces the number of electric public serving fleet vehicles operating at such location. The tariff shall provide for the electric corporation to recover a prorated portion of the customerside make-ready incentive directly from the customer in such instance.
5. Disadvantaged community zone. For the purposes of this section the commission shall define the term "disadvantaged community zone".
6. Cost treatment and recovery for utility-owned make-ready costs. All electric corporations shall maintain budgets for its costs incurred under this section. The portion of customer-owned make-ready costs incurred by an electric corporation pursuant to subdivision four of this section shall be treated in accordance with a depreciation or amortization schedule as authorized by the commission. Any electric corporation may recover the incremental revenue requirement associated with such costs through a surcharge mechanism until its base rates are reset. Any electric corporation seeking to recover such costs through a surcharge mechanism shall include such proposal as part of its application filed pursuant to subdivision four of this section.
7. Approval of tariffs. The commission shall, after notice and opportunity for public comment and within ninety days of the filing of the tariff, approve, or modify and approve, such tariff.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to building make- ready electrical infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles for public serving fleet vehicles
Purpose
This legislation amends the Public Service Law to direct electric utili- ties to construct or otherwise bear costs of certain infrastructure needed to serve electric vehicle charging systems.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Adds Section 66-x to the Public Service Law to: Establish legislative, intent and set forth definitions of included terms. Require electric corporations to establish revised tariffs to provide for more uniform deployment of equipment ("make-ready infrastructure") needed to connect electric vehicle charging stations to the electric grid. The tariffs shall authorize the electric corporations to cover 1000 of prudent utility-side make-ready costs, and between 50% to 100%, of prudent customer-side make-ready costs, based on whether the customer is located in a disadvantaged community zone or operates a public-serv- ing fleet; and to recover such costs through surcharge or base rates instead of directly from the customer served. Electric corporations shall take reasonable efforts to ensure that any infrastructure built pursuant to this section is efficiently sized and operated, such as by considering customers' reasonably-foreseeable load management activities or distributed energy resource deployments.
Read the full memo (759 words)
Establish a public notice and comment period for the proposed tariffs.
Section 2 is the effective date, which is immediate.
Difference between original and amended version
The revisions would narrow the scope of S.98 to provide make-ready support only for public-serving fleets (i.e., school buses, public tran- sit, and government-owned or -contracted vehicles). Many such entities are subject to binding decarbonization/electrification requirements.
Absent make-ready support through a utility program, the costs of make- ready for these entities would ultimately be passed through to the public through taxes, fares, etc. The revisions also include utility customer protections, minor corrections, and clarifications.
By excluding non-public-serving fleets from guaranteed make-ready support, the revisions would lower the short-term costs attributable to the bill.
Utility make-ready support for electrifying fleets ultimately puts down- ward pressure on rates, to the benefit of all utility customers; howev- er, such rate effects can take time to materialize, and the changes are sensitive to immediate-term affordability concerns.
The revisions would not prohibit the PSC from separately authorizing make-ready support for non-public-serving fleets, including programs that are currently underway.
Justification
New York has set rigorous goals - such as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA), Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Cars II rules, and the Zero Emissions Vehicles sales targets - to predominantly electrify its transportation sector by 2050, with significant target deadlines rapidly approaching. Significant expansions of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including both utility-side grid facilities and customer-side charging equipment, will be required to meet these targets.
Burdensome utility make-ready policies impede this infrastructure deployment. "Make-ready" refers to (i) utility-side equipment that connects the customer to the grid, and (ii) customer-side equipment that connects the utility meter to the charging stations themselves. Make- ready can comprise 30% or more of a fleet's upfront charging costs. This poses a significant financial hurdle, particularly for public-serving fleets (such as transit agencies) and fleets serving disadvantaged communities. Moreover, New York's electric utilities each have different tariff rules and policies governing the allocation of make-ready costs, which adds complexity for fleets operating in multiple utility service territories.
This legislation addresses this obstacle by establishing a uniform cost allocation for make-ready infrastructure. It requires electric utilities to cover 100% of prudent utility-side make-ready costs, as well as a portion of prudent customer-side make-ready costs, and at least 50% for other single- or multi-family, and fleet locations. Utilities would recover these costs through rates instead of directly from the charging customer.
In addition to supporting charging customers and New York's electrifica- tion goals, this policy is also projected to benefit utility ratepayers by helping new electric loads come online more quickly, which expedites corresponding ratemaking benefits. A recent study examining two New York utilities showed that the increase in utility revenue from serving new EVs will tend to exceed costs of make-ready infrastructure, which puts downward pressure on utility rates for customers.
Legislative history
2024: S9114 Comrie/ A10383 Woerner
Local fiscal implications
To be determined, but the initial costs of the program will be borne by the electric utilities, with some costs in some instances to the custom- er side capped at 50 percent; but increased revenue from charging is expected to sufficiently cover those upfront utility costs.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.